Adjustable length wand



Nov. 7, 1967 o. F. DOWNEY ETAL 3,351,353

ADJUSTABLE LENGTH WAND 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 23, 1964 5 m T N E vm JOHN T. FERRARIS DAVID E DOWNEY THEIR ATTORNEY Nov. 7, 1967 D. F.DOWNEY ETAL 3,351,363

ADJUSTABLE LENGTH WAND 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 23, 1964 INVENTORSJOHN T. FERRARIS DAVID F. DOWNEY PJPI. 11.1:

THEIR ATTOR NEY United States Patent 3,351,363 ADJUSTABLE LENGTH WANDDavid F. Downey and John T. Ferraris, Stamford, Coma, assignors toElectrolux Corporation, Old Greenwich, Conn, a corporation of DelawareFiled Dec. 23, 1964, Ser. No. 420,501 3 Claims. (Cl. 285303) There isprovided by our invention a vacuum cleaner wand which may betelescopically adjusted and latched at any one of a number of desiredlengths.

When using a tank-type vacuum cleaner a rigid hollow wand is coupledbetween a suction hose and a suction cleaning nozzle. The wand servestwo purposes. It serves as a handle with which the housewife can movethe nozzle across the surface to be cleaned and, in addition, it servesas a conduit for conveying dirt-ladened air from the suction nozzle tothe hose and thence to the tank unit where the dirt is filtered from theair. Hence, the wand must be able to transmit substantial force appliedin a longitudinal direction and, in addition, it must be airtight. Theconventional widely-used wand has two wand sections which may be coupledend-to-end to form -a long wand, but if a short length of wand isrequired, only one section is used. Thus, with such an arrangement thehousewife can use either a long wand or a short one, depending on thekind of cleaning task involved. However, she is not able to have a wandof an intermediate length; i.e., a wand which can have its lengthvaried, incrementally, between the aforesaid short and long lengths.

There are many occasions when it would be an advantage to be able toadjust the Wand to intermediate lengths. Ordinarily, when a rug is beingcleaned, one would want to use a long length wand. Heretofore, this wasaccomplished by coupling the two aforementioned wand sectionsend-to'end. But, if the housewife is below average height it would be anadvantage to telescope the two wand sections to provide an intermediatelength wand. Also, when cleaning objects above the floor, such as tabletops, drapes, picture frames, moldings and the like, it would bedesirable to be able to adjust the wand to various lengths in accordancewith the height of the object above the floor.

One object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedvacuum cleaner wand.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleanerwand, the length of which may be adjusted to any one of a plurality oflengths and is positively latched in each such position of adjustment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleanerwand which, although adjustable as to length, is nevertheless airtight.

Briefly, in accordance with one embodiment of our invention there isprovided a vacuum cleaner wand having inner and outer tubular wandsections which are coaxially arranged so that the inner wand section canbe moved, telescopically, within the outer wand section. On the outersurface of the inner wand section there is formed a series ofhemispherical indentations and this series extends for a substantialdistance along the length of the inner wand section. In addition, thereis formed in the outer surf-ace of the inner wand section a long narrowindentation which also extends for a substantial distance along thelength of the wand. At one end of the outer wand section there isconnected a latch mechanism which is comprised of two coaxially arrangedhollow cylindrical members; i.e., a stationary inner cylindrical member,which is fastened to the outer surface of the outer wand section, and anouter cylindrical member arranged for limited movement relative to thestationary inner cylindrical member. The inner wand section passes3,351,363 Patented. Nov. 7, 1967 coaxially through the two hollowcylindrical members into the outer wand section. Between the twocoaxially arranged cylindrical members there is provided a space withinwhich there is seated a spring member which normally biases the outercylindrical member to assume a predetermined alignment relative to theinner cylindrical member. Two small spheres, such as steel balls, forexample, are seated in spaces which are provided in the innercylindrical member. The first of these spheres projects into the longnarrow indentation on the inner wand section. When the inner wandsection is telescopically moved in a longitudinal direction within theouter wand section, this sphere will permit such movement but willprevent the inner wand section from being rotated within the outer wandsection. The second sphere is forced into one of the hemisphericalindentations in the inner wand section when the spring member is biasingthe outer cylindrical member to its normal position because a surfaceportion of the outer cylindrical member forces this sphere to projectinto the hemispherical indentation. In this condition the wand sectionsare securely latched so they cannot be further telescoped. In order tounlatch the wand for the purpose of changing its length (for example, tofurther telescope the inner wand within the outer wand section) theouter cylindrical member is slidably moved over the inner cylindricalmember against the restraining force of the spring member. After apredetermined movement, another space provided in the outer cylindricalsection will arrive adjacent to the second sphere, at which point theinner wand section may be moved longitudinally. As the inner wandsection is being moved, the second sphere is moved outwardly into theadjacent space thereby unlatching the two wands. The second sphere willthen seat itself in any one of the successively arriving hemisphericalindent-ations at which point the housewife can release her grip on theouter cylindrical member so that the spring action will again cause alatching of the two wand sections.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent fromthe following description when considered in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a tank type vacuum cleaneremploying a variable length wand in accordance with a first embodimentof our invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the wand of FIG. I adjusted to arelatively short length, suitable for cleaning objects above the floor;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-section of part of the wand of FIG. 1showing the two wand sections thereof in a latched or locked condition;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the wand shown in FIG. 3 viewedalong the section line 4-4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-section similar to FIG. 3, but showingthe two wand sections thereof being unlatched, or unlocked, as an outercylindrical member forming part of a latch mechanism is moved in onedirection;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross-section similar to FIG. 5, but showingthe two wand sections thereof being unlatched as the outer cylindricalmember is moved in a direction opposite to that shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a variable lengthwand according to our invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a variable lengthwand according to our invention;

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal cross-section of part of the wands of FIGS. 7and 8 showing the two wand sections thereof in a latched, or locked,condition;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the wand shown in FIG. 9 as viewedalong the section line Ill-10 in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal cross-section of part of the wand of FIGS. 7and 9 showing the two Wand sections in an unlatched, or unlocked,condition;

FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view of the wand of FIG. 11 as viewed alongthe section line 12-12 in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal cross-section of a fourth embodiment of avariable length wand according to our invention showing the two wandsections thereof in their latched or locked condition;

FIG. 14 is a cross-section of the wand shown in FIG. 13 as viewed alongsection line 14-14 in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal cross-section of the wand of FIG. 13 showingthe two wand sections thereof in their unlatched or unlocked condition;and

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the wand shown in FIG. 15 as viewedalong the section line 16-16 in FIG. 15.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 the reference character 16 designates an adjustablelength wand according to a first embodiment of our invention. In FIG. 1the wand 16 is shown in its fully extended condition and in thiscondition it is suitable for cleaning the surface of a floor. Asindicated there is provided a relatively large cleaning tool 24, orsuction nozzle, on the end of wand 16. However, in FIG. 2 the wand isshown in a shortened condition and a different cleaning tool 22 isattached to the end of the wand. With the shortened wand 16 and thecleaning tool 22 coupled at the end thereof the housewife can easilyclean draperies, table tops, picture frames, moldings and other suchobjects which are located above the floor surface.

The wand 16 is comprised of the rigid, tubular, outer wand section 18 aswell as the rigid, tubular, inner wand section 20. These wand sectionsare telescopically arranged. That is, the inner wand'section 20 isarranged for sliding movement longitudinally within the outer wandsection 18. The wand sections 18 and 20 may be fashioned from aluminum,or steel, or the like. In FIG. 1 a tank unit of a vacuum cleanerincludes therewithin a dust bag and a motor-fan unit. However, the dustbag and motor-fan unit are not illustrated in the drawings. Coupled tothe suction inlet port of the tank unit 10 is one end of a suction hose12. At the other end of the hose 12 there is a rigid, hollow, hosehandle 14 which is inserted into the flared end portion 18a of the outerwand section 18. In the arrangement shown air, ladened with dirt anddust from the floor and rug, enters the suction nozzle 24 and thisdi-rty air is conveyed to the dust bag in the tank unit 10 via the innerwand section 20, the outer wand section 18, the hollow hose handle 14and the suction hose 12.

The first embodiment of the wand 16 according to our invention isillustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 3-6 of the accompanying drawings.As shown, for a substantial distance along the outside surface of theinner wand section 20 there is formed an axially extending series ofhemispherical indentations 2626. Also formed in the outer surface of theinner wand section 20 is a long narrow indentation 28 which, as shown inFIG. 4, has a semicircular cross-section. Like the series ofhemispherical indentations 2626, the indentation 28 also extends for asubstantial distance in an axial direction along the wand section 20.Formed in one end of the outer surface of the inner wand section 20 isan annular groove 30 and within this groove there is located an annularsealing member 32. The sealing member 32 may be formed from rubber, oranother suitable elastomer, and it serves the purpose of providing anairtight seal between the inner and outer surfaces of the wand sections18 and 20, respectively.

Secured to one end of the outer surface of the outer wand section 18 isa hollow cylindrical member 34, or as it is sometimes called hereinafteran inner cylindrical member. A substantial end section of this member34- projects beyond an end of t e and SeCIiO This inner cylindricalmember 34, is, as shown at FIG. 3, provided with an internal annulargroove and after the end portion of the outer wand section 18 has beeninserted within the cylindrical member 34 an annular groove 36 is formedin the inside surface of the outer wand seection 18 by means of asuitable expansion tool. By forming the annular groove 36 on the insideof wand section 18 there is necessarily provided an annular projectingrib on the outside of the wand section 18. This projecting rib entersthe annular groove on the inside surface of the cylindrical member 34thereby positively securing the cylindrical member 34 to the end of thewand section 18. Thereafter, the inner wand section 20 may be slidablyinserted within the outer wand section 18.

As is shown in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6 there is formed near one end of theinner cylindrical member 34, in the projecting end section thereof, thetwo generally cylindrical holes or cavities 40 and 42. As shown in FIGS.3 and 4, the cavity 40 is aligned with one of the hemisphericalindentations 26 of wand section 20 and the cavity 42 communicates, asshown, with an end portion of the long narrow indentation 28. Two balls44 and 46, which may be of steel or the like, are located in thecavities 40 and 42, respectively. A hollow generally cylindrical member43, or outer cylindrical member as it is sometimes called hereinafter,concentrically encompasses the inner cylindrical member 34. On theinside surface of the outer cylindrical member 48 there are formed two=annular grooves which receive the split retaining rings 50 and 52. Beingsplit these rings 50 and 52 may be compressed to a smaller diameter andinserted while so compressed within the outer cylindrical member 48.When the compressed rings 50 and 52 are aligned next to theaforementioned internal annular grooves they are allowed to expand to alarger diameter and in doing so the rings will become seated in theaforesaid annular grooves and a substantial portion of the inside edgesurface of the rings 50 and 52 will project outwardly from the insidewall surface of the outer cylindrical member 48. As shown in FIG. 3, theinside edge of the ring 50 is normally adjacent an annular projection 54which is formed in the outer surface of the inner cylindrical member 34.As indicated there is a small clearance provided between the peripheraledge surface of the ring 50 and the peripheral edge surface of theannular projection 54.

As shown in FIG. 3, there are defined two generally annular spacesbetween the inside surface of the outer cylindrical member 48 and theoutside surface of the inner cylindrical member 34. One annular space islocated to the right of the aligned ring and projection, 51) and 54. Thesecond annular space is located to the left of this aligned ring andprojection. In the left-hand space there are located the two annularslide rings 56 and 58 together with a compression spring 62. In theright-hand annular space there are located an annular slide ring 60 anda compression spring 64. The annular slide rings 56, 58 and 60 have agenerally L-shaped longitudinal cross-section as shown. The slide rings58 and 60 are arranged in back to back relationship but are separated,as shown in FIG. 3, by the aligned split ring and annular projection, 50and 54. Upright leg portions of the slide rings 58 and 60 are normallyin abutment with the aligned ring and projection, 50 and 54. Also, anupright leg portion of the slide ring 56 abuts against the splitretaining ring 52.

There is formed at the forward end of the outer cylindrical member 48,on the inside surface thereof, a short axially extending longitudinalslot comprising the two tapered, or wedge-like surfaces 66 and and therelatively straight surface 68 which is intermediate the tapered surface66 and 70. A few end turns of the compression spring 62 are situatedbetween the inside surface of the outer cylindrical member 48 and thehorizontal leg portions of the annular slide rings 56 and 58.

Being so situated the spring 62 will be confined within the lefthandspace and cannot escape from this space when, as indicated in FIGS. 5and 6, the outer cylindrical member 48 moves in a longitudinal directionrelative to the stationary inner cylindrical member 34. Likewise, asshown in FIG. 3, to confine the spring 64 against escaping from theright-hand space, the end turns of the spring 64 are confined at one endbetween a horizontal leg portion of the slide ring 60 and the insidesurface of the outer cylindrical member 48. At the other end, the endturns of the spring 64 are received in an annular groove 72 which isformed in the inside wall of the outer cylindrical member 48.

A hard plastic, such as nylon, polyethylene, or even metals such assteel or aluminum may be used to fashion the following parts: the innerand outer cylindrical members 34, 48; the slide rings 56, 58, 60; andthe split retaining rings 58 and 52. Spring steel or another resilientmaterial suitable for the purpose may be used to form the compressionsprings 62 and 64.

One way of assembling the latch mechanism comprising the cylindricalmembers 34 and 48 together with the slide rings, compression coils,retaining rings and steel balls is as follows:

Before slipping the outer cylindrical member 48 over the inner wandsection 20 (from right to left in accordance with the orientation shownin FIG. 3) the spring 64, the annular slide ring 60 and the splitretaining ring 50 may be assembled within the outer cylindrical member48, adjacent the inside wall surface thereof. The steel balls 44 and 46are inserted into their respective holes, or cavities, 40 and 42. Thenthe outer cylindrical member 48 having the spring, slide ring andretaining ring assembled therein is slipped over the outer surface ofthe inner wand section 20 and, thence, over the inner cylindrical member34 to the position indicated in FIG. 3 such that the split retainingring 50 is peripherally aligned with the annular projecting rib 54 andthe annular slide ring 60 is in abutment with both the ring 50 andprojection 54. Then into the empty left-hand annular space between thecylindrical members 34 and 48 the slide ring 58 is inserted to theposition shown in FIG. 3 until it abuts the aligned projection 54 andthe ring 50. Thereafter, the compression spring 62 is moved inwardlyinto the left-hand cylindrical space between the inner and outercylindrical members until one end thereof abuts the upright leg portionof the slide ring 58. Afterward the slide ring 56 is pushed into thisspace to the position shown in FIG. 3. Finally, the split retaining ring52 is compressed to a smaller diameter and inserted into this annularspace until it is aligned with an annular groove formed in the insideend surface of the outer cylindrical member 48, at which point it ispermitted to expand and become seated in this annular groove. A goodlyportion of the split retaining ring 52 will project outwardly from theinside surface of the outer cylindrical member 48 and a portion of thisretaining ring 52 will serve to hold the slide ring 56 within theleft-hand space.

In FIG. 3 the two wand sections 18 and 24] are in their normalcondition; that is, they are latched thereby preventing relativetelescopic movement therebetween. The inner wand section 20 cannot beslidably moved in a 1ongitudinal direction within the outer wand section18. The two springs 62 and 64 have spring constants which aresubstantially equal so that the outer cylindrical member 48 willnormally be aligned with the inner cylindrical member 34 in thecondition illustrated in FIG. 3; that is, the split retaining ring 50will be peripherally aligned with the annular projecting rib 54 and thesurface 68, on the inside of the outer cylindrical member 48, will be incontact with the surface of the steel ball 44 to keep this ballpositively seated deeply within hole 40 and the hemisphericalindentation 26. Since this ball 44 is positively seated, longitudinalmovement of the inner wand section 20 is prevented. It is to be notedthat the inner wand section 20 can never be rotated about itslongitudinal central axis relative to the outer wand section because theball 46 projects well within the longitudinal indentation 28 (FIG. 4).

FIG. 5 shows how the wand sections are unlatched when it is desired toincrease the overall length of the wand, and FIG. 6 shows how they areunlatched when it is desired to decrease the overall length.

In both of the FIGS. 5 and 6 the inner wand section 28 and the outercylindrical member 48 are slidably moved in opposite directions relativeto each other in order to unlatch the wand sections for longitudinaltelescopic movement. A very important feature of the first wandembodiment 16 is that the unlatching of and the relative telescopicmovement of the wand sections is easily accomplished by using two hands.In. both illustrations shown at FIGS. 5 and 6 all that the housewifeneed do is to grasp the outer surface of the cylindrical member 48 withone hand and also grasp the outer surface of the inner wand section 20with her other hand and move her hands apart to lengthen the wand andtogether to shorten it.

Assume, for example, that it is desired to make the overall length ofthe wand 16 longer; i.e., extend the inner wand section outwardly fromthe outer wand section 18. With one hand grasping the outer cylindricalmember 48 and the other hand grasping the inner wand section 20, allthat needs to be done is to move or pull the hands apart so that thewand section 20 slidably moves in the direction indicated by arrow A(FIG. 5), and the outer cylindrical member 48 slidably moves in anopposite direction; i.e., the direction indicated by the arrow A (FIG.5). Of course, the same elfect can be achieved if the housewife shouldfind it easier to grasp the outer cylindrical member 48 with one hand,holding this one hand stationary, and pull the wand section 20 with herother hand in the direction of the arrow A.

When the aforesaid movements occur, the steel ball 44 will no longer bepositively forced by the surface 68 downwardly into the indentation 26at the bottom of the cavity 40, as shown in FIG. 3. Also, when the wandsection 28 and the outer cylindrical member 48 move in oppositedirections indicated by the arrows A and A in FIG. 5, the spring 64 iscompressed, the surface 68 is moved out of contact with the top surfaceof the ball 44 and the wedge-like or tapered surface 66 is moved to aposition above this ball thereby allowing the ball 44 to be moved into aclearance space provided between the top of the ball 44 and the surface66. More particularly, the ball 44 can be moved upwardly in the cavity40 to a distance sufiicient to clear the indentation 26. However, thisclearance distance is not suflicient to allow the ball 44 to escape fromthe cavity 40. As the housewife continues to cause relative movementbetween the member 48 and wand section 20, in the opposite directions Aand A, the movement of the inner wand section 20 causes the ball 44 tobe pushed upwardly in hole 44, out of its seated arrangement inindentation 26, into the clearance space between the top of the ball andsurface 66 so that the ball 44 can roll or slide on the non-indentedouter surface of the inner wand section 20 as indicated in FIG. 5. Aslong as the inner wand section 20 is being slidably moved, in the mannerindicated in FIG. 5, within the outer wand section 18, the ball 44 canmomentarily enter each of the indentations 26 which successively arriveunder the cavity 4!). However, the ball 44 will be repeatedly pushedupwardly into the aforesaid clearance space and ride on the non-indentedsurface of the inner wand section 20 between the successive indentations26. When a desired wand length, corresponding to a particularindentation 26, is to be achieved, the outer cylindrical member 48 isreleased and it will tend to return, as near as it is able, to itsnormal, or latched, position (FIG. 3) due to the tendency of spring 64to expand. If the ball 44 happens to be on a non-indented portion of theouter surface of the inner wand section 20 (as in FIG.

) when the outer cylinderical member 48 is released, the cylindricalmember 48 will not fully return to the condition shown in FIG. 3 becausethe ball 44 is wedged between the surface 66 and the non-indentedsurface of the wand section 20. In this condition the inner wand section20 can still be slidably moved. However, when the next hemisphericalindentation 26 arrives under the cavity 40 the ball 44 will be forceddownwardly into the cavity and become seated in the indentation 26thereby latching the two wand sections. Thus the outer cylindricalmember and the ball 44 return to the condition shown in FIG. 3.

Assume, now, that it is desired to make the overall length of the wand16 shorter. With one hand grasping the outer cylindrical member 48 andthe other hand grasping the inner wand section 20 all that need be doneis to cause the member 48 and wand section 20 to move relative to eachother in the opposite directions indicated by the arrows B and B,respectively (FIG. 6). Again, the housewifes two hands are manipulatedin either of the two ways hereinbefore discussed with respect to thewand lengthening operation of FIG. 5; i.e., the housewife may move herhands in opposite directions or, in the alternative, hold the outercylindrical member 48 stationary while she moves wand section 20 intowand section 18 in the direction of arrow B. In either case, there willoccur relative opposing movements (directions B and B) between wandsection 20 and outer cylindrical member 48. As long as the outercylindrical member 48 is moved in direction B opposite to B, as shown inFIG. 6, the surface of the steel ball 44 is free from contact withsurface 68 and is adjacent to but spaced apart from the wedge-like ortapered surface 70 on the inside of the outer cylindrical member 48. Asa result the ball 44 can be moved upwardly toward the surface 70 as theinner wand section 20 is slidably moved within the outer wand section18. Moreover, as long as these opposing movements B and B occur thespring 62 is compressed and the inner wand section 20 can be slidablymoved into wand section 18. After the housewifes hand is released fromthe outer cylindrical member 48 this member 48 will, due to the tendencyof the spring 62 to expand, try to return member 48 to the normalposition shown in FIG. 3 and the ball 44 will eventually becomepositively seated, due to contact with the wedge-like surface 70, deeplywithin the hole 40 and also within a particular hemisphericalindentation 26 in the same manner as hereinbefore described withreference to FIG. 5. Thus the two wand sections 18 and 20 will becomepositively latched to provide a desired overall wand length.

Thus the first embodiment of the wand 16 shown in FIGS. 1 through 6 canbe unlatched by using two hands in the easy, unawkward manner,hereinbefore described, in order to change the overall wand length indesired increments.

The second and third embodiments of the variable length wands accordingto our invention are illustrated in FIGS. 7 and .8, respectively. InFIG. 7 the reference character 16a designates a variable length wandaccording to the second embodiment. In FIG. 8, reference character 16bdesignates a variable length wand according to the third embodiment.

Like the first described wand 16 the wand 16a also uses the same innerand outer wand sections 20 and 18 and these wand sections are arrangedso that the inner wand section 20 can "be telescopically moved withinthe outer wand section 18. Again, the inner wand section 20 has a seriesof hemispherical indentations 2626 formed in the outer surface thereofand this series of indentations extends longitudinally in an axialdirection for a substantial distance along the outer surface of the wandsection 20. In addition, there is provided the longitudinal narrowindentation 28 on the outer surface of the wand section 20 and thislongitudinal indentation 28, likewise, extends for a substantialdistance in an axial direction along the length of the wand section 20.For the purpose'of providing an airtight seal one end of the wandsection 20 has the annular groove 30 formed therein and within thisgroove 30 there is seated the sealing member 32 which may be made fromrubber or another suitable elastomer. Thus the sealing member 32 willensure an airtight seal between the inner and outer surfaces of the wandsections 18 and 20, respectively.

As in the first embodiment, the two steel balls 44 and 46 are againemployed and, as before, the ball 44 is intended to be seated in any oneof the hemispherical indentations 26 adjacent the bottom of the hole 15to lock, or latch, the inner and outer wand sections together. Likewise,the ball 46 projects out of a hole 17 into the long narrow indentations28 and is employed for the purpose of preventing rotation of the wandsection 20 relative to the wand section 18'.

The wand (second embodiment shown in FIG. 7) is illustrated in greaterdetail in FIGS. 9 through 12. In FIG. 9 the two wand sections 18 and 20are shown in their latched or locked condition, whereas in FIG. 11 theyare shown in their unlatched condition. At the end of the outer wandsection 18 there is fastened a rigid, hollow, generally cylindricalmember 11, or an inner cylindrical member as it is hereinafter called.As shown, a substantial end section of the member 11 projects beyond theend of the wand section 18. Fastening is accomplished by inserting theend of the outer wand section 18 within the inner cylindrical member 11and with the suitable expansion tool there is formed an annularprojecting rib 13. This rib 13 enters a complementary annular grooveformed on the inside surface of the inner cylindrical member 11.Thereafter, steel balls 44 and 45 are inserted in the cylindrical holesor cavities 15 and 17, respectively, or holes which are formed in theinner cylindrical member 11 in said projecting end section thereof. Acompression spring 19 is inserted within the rigid, hollow, generallycylindrical member 21, or outer cylindrical member as it is sometimescalled hereinafter. The spring 19 is inserted within the outercylindrical member 21 before sliding the outer cylindrical member 21 andspring 19 over the inner wand section 28. Then the outer cylindricalmember 21 together with the spring 19 is inserted over the inner wandsection 20 and over the inner cylindrical member 11 to the positionshown in FIG. 9. The opposite ends of helical compression spring are inabutment with the annular wall surfaces 29 and 31 which are formed inthe inside and outside surfaces of the outer and inner cylindricalmembers 21 and 11, respectively. Thereafter, a split retaining ring 23is inserted into the space between the outer and inner cylindricalmembers at the left-hand side of FIG. 9. This retaining ring 23 iscompressed as it is inserted within this space and then while within thespace allowed to expand and become seated within an annular grooveprovided on an inside surface of the outer cylindrical member 21. Nearone end of the outer cylindrical member 21 and on the inside surfacethereof there is formed a long narrow slot wherein two surfaces aredefined, the relatively straight surface 27 and the inclined, orwedge-like, surface 25.

In FIG. 9 the two wand sections 18 and 20* are latched or locked so thatrelative movement therebetween is prevented. This latching or locking iseffected because the ball 44 is forced by the wedge-like surface 25deeply into the cavity 15, or hole, so that the ball becomes positivelyseated in the hemispherical indentation 26 therebelow. Thus, the ball 44being so seated acts together with indentation 26 as a detent to preventlongitudinal telescopic movement between the wand sections 18 and 20 inthe same manner as hereinbefore discussed with respect to the first wandembodiment, wand 16, shown in FIGS. 1-6.

FIG. 11 suggests how the wand sections 18 and 20 may be unlatched topermit sliding movement of the inner wand section 20 relative to theouter wand section 18. As shown in FIG. 7, the wand 16a is so arrangedand oriented for normal use that the floor tool 24 is coupled to an endof the outer wand section 18; the outer wand section 18 being locatedbelow the inner wand section 20 and is closest to the floor. The upperwand section 20 has a flared portion 20a adapted to receive the hollowhose handle 14. Advantageously, the wand 16a can, like the wand 16hereinbefore discussed, be easily unlatched and telescopically adjustedto any desired length by using two hands.

Assume, for example, that the wand 16a is initially of a long overalllength or even at its maximum length as indicated in PEG. 1; i.e., theuppermost wand section 20, which is the inner wand section, is extendedfrom the lowermost, or outer, wand section 18. In order to shorten theoverall length of wand 16:: to some other desired intermediate length,the housewife need only grasp the outside surface of the outercylindrical member 21 with one hand and grasp the upper, or inner, wandsection 20 with her other hand. Then, as suggested in FIG. 11, thecylindrical member 21 is slidably moved downwardly, which is thedirection indicated by arrow C. This downwardly directed force istransmitted from the outer cylindrical member 21 to the innercylindrical member 11 by compressing spring 19 and causing surface 29 tocontact surface 31a. As a consequence the force is further transmittedto and longitudinally along the rigid outer wand section 18 which bearsagainst the floor tool and ultimately against the floor surface. Sincethe wand section 18 bears against the floor surface, albeit indirectly,the cylindrical member 21 need only be moved downwardly by but a smalldistance. Advantageously, the housewife need not bend over or stoop toany great extent since the distance traveled by member 21 is relativelysmall. As the cylindrical member 21 is slidably moved to the positionshOWn in FIG. 11, the housewifes other hand, which grasps the uppermost,or inner wand section 20, pushes the inner wand section 2% into theouter wand section 18 in the direction indicated in FIG. 11 by the arrowC. When the cylindrical member 21 is moved to the position shown in FIG.11 the surface 25 is moved out of contact with the top of the ball 44.After the wedge-like surface 25 has been so moved, the straight orparallel surface 27 arrives adjacent to, but is spaced apart from, thetop of ball 44. As shown in FIG. 11 there is provided enough clearancebetween the top of the ball and the surface 27 to permit the ball 44 tobe moved upwardly out of the indentation 26 and partly into theclearance space. However, the clearance space so provided is notsufficiently large to enable the ball 44 to fully escape from the cavity15 or hole. As long as the outer cylindrical member 21 is held in theposition shown in FIG. 11 the inner wand section may be slidably movedinto wand section 18. That is, the ball 44 can momentarily enter each ofthe indentations 26 which successively arrive under the cavity 15 whilethe wand section 20 is being moved into the wand section 18. In otherwords, the ball 44 will be abruptly pushed upwardly into the aforesaidclearance space between the surface 2 7 and the outer surface of theinner cylindrical member 11 and will slide or roll along thenon-indented surface of the inner wand section 20' between thesuccessively arriving hemispherical indentations 26. When a desired wandlength, corresponding to a particular indentation 26, is to be achievedthe housewifes grasp on the outer cylindrical member 21 is released andthis member will tend to return, as near as it is able, to its normal orlatched position shown in FIG. 9 due to the expansion of the spring 19.If the ball 44 happens to be on a non-indented portion of the outersurface of the wand section 20 when the outer cylindrical member 21 isreleased the cylindrical member 21 will not fully return to thecondition shown in FIG. 9 because the ball 44 becomes wedged between thesurface 25 and the non-indented surface of the inner wand section 2%. Inthis condition the inner wand section 2i? can still be slidably movedbut when the next hemispherical indentation 26 arrives beneath thecavity 15 the 1% ball 44 will be forced downwardly into this cavity andwill become seated in the indentation 26 thereby latching the two wandsections 18 and 20* against further relative movement.

Assuming now, for example, that the wand 16a is initially of arelatively short overall length and it is desired to achieve an overallwand length which is relatively longer, it still requires only an easytwo hand operation. More particularly, one hand grasps the cylindricalmember 21 and the other hand grasps the inner wand section 20. Then bothhands are moved apart in, for example, the directions C and C. Ineffect, therefore, the outer cylindrical member 21 and the wand section20 move in opposite directions. As long as the outer cylindrical member21 is positioned as shown in FIG. 11, the inner wand section may beslidably moved with the other hand outwardly from within the wandsection 18 in the direction indicated by the arrow C"; i.e., in adirection opposite to the movement of cylindrical member 21. The actionof the ball 44 in the hole 15 relative to an indentation 26 and thesurface portions 25 and 27 is the same as hereinbefore described in thediscussion relating to shortening the overall length of the wand 16a.

The third embodiment of a variable length wand, designated by thereference character 16b, according to our invention is shown in FIG. 8.Moreover, as in the case of the wand 16a, hereinbefore described, theFIGS. 9-12 show the details of the wand 15b. Although the FIGS. 9-12show the details of both the wands 16a and 16b, these FIGS. 9l2 are tobe interpreted now in light of the orientation of the elements shown inFIG. 8. More particularly, in wand 1612 the inner wand section 20 is thelowermost one; i.e., it is coupled to the floor tool 24 and is closestto the floor surface. (The orientation is illustrated in FIG. 8.) Sincethe outer wand section 18 is the uppermost wand section its uppermostend section 18a is flared for the purpose of receiving the hollow hosehandle 14.

Assume that the wand 16!; is initially at or near its shortest overalllength and it is desired to lengthen the overall length of the wand.This is easily accomplished by the housewife with a relatively easy twohand operation. To lengthen the wand 16b, one hand is used to grasp theouter cylindrical member 21 while the other hand grasps the lowermost,or inner, wand section 26 Then, the housewifes hands are moved apart;e.g., one hand slidably moves the member 21 in the direction of thearrow C (i.e., pulls member 21 upwardly toward wand section 18) as theother hand moves the lowermost wand section 20 downwardly in thedirection of the arrow C. As a result, the action of the ball 44 in thehole 15 relative to an indentation 26 and the surface portions 25 and 27is similar to that hereinbefore described.

If, on the other hand, the wand 16b is initially at or near its longestlength and it is desired to shorten the wands overall length, this maybe accomplished in the following manner: As the outer cylindrical member21 is pulled upwardly toward the uppermost, outer wand section 18 in thedirection indicated by the arrow C, the inner wand section 20 is alsopulled upwardly into wand section 18 in the direction indicated by thearrow C. Although, the two movement directions C and C are madesimultaneously in the same upward direction, such a manipulation is notat all difiicult to perform with but two hands. For example, with onehand the thumb and index finger can grasp the cylindrical member 21while the back part of the palm or heel and the remaining fingers of thesame hand grasp the upper wand section 18, firmly, to permit the thumband index finger to slide member 21 inthe direction of arrow C. Whilethe member 21 is held in the aforesaid position shown in FIG. 11, thehousewifes other hand can move the wand section 20 into the wand section18, in the direction indicated by the arrow C. As a result, of theaforesaid manipulation, the

action of the ball 44 in hole 15 relative to an indenta 1 1 tion 26 andthe surface portions 26 and 27 is similar to that hereinbeforediscussed.

A fourth embodiment of our invention is illustrated in FIGS. 13 through16. In these figures reference number 16c designates a fourth wandembodiment according to our invention. As in the previous wandembodiments the wand 160 is comprised of the inner and outer wandsections 20 and 18 which are arranged for telescopic movement in alongitudinal direction. The inner wand section 20 includes a series ofhemispherical indentations 2626 on the outside surface thereof. Also,the inner wand section 20 has an elongated indentation 28a formed on theoutside surface thereof and this indentation 280 has a somewhat invertedU-shaped cross-section as indicated in FIGS. 14 and 16.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 15 the outer wand section 18 includes an endsection 81 which has an enlarged diameter. In this end section 81 thereare provided two apertures 84 (FIG. 13) and 85 (FIGS. 14 and 16). Aninner cylindrical member 80 is inserted within the enlarged end section'81. The inner cylindrical member 80 includes an enlarged projectingmember '83 which is cantilevered from the main portion of the member 80by a short, narrow, bridge section 83a. The radial inner end of enlargedprojecting member 83 protrudes through the aperture 85 in the endsection 81 and also projects into the elongated indentation 28a. Sincethe projecting member 83 is nested in the elongated indentation 28a theinner cylindrical member 80 cannot be rotated relative to the inner wandsection 20. The inner cylindrical member 80 also has a hole or cavity 87into which a ball 44 is inserted and seated in one hemisphericalindentation 26 to latch the two wand sections against longitudinaltelescopic movement.

A rotatable outer cylindrical member 82 is fitted over the enlarged endsection 81 of the outer wand section 18. On the inside surface of theouter cylindrical member 82 a recessed surface portion 88, or long slot,is provided as well as a leaf spring 89 which is supported in cantileverfashion in the slot 88 by means of a rivet 90 (see FIG. 15). Also formedin the inside surface of the outer cylindrical member 82 is a recessedarcuate surface 91 into which the radial outer end of the aforementionedprojecting member 83 protrudes so that only a limited rotation of theouter cylindrical member 82 relative to the inner cylindrical member 80can be achieved.

FIGS. 15 and 16 show the inner and outer wand sections and 18 in theirunlatched condition. The leaf spring 89 contacts the ball 44 andmaintains it deeply seated in the hole '87 as well as seated within ahemispherical indentation 26. However, the inner wand section 20 may bemoved longitudinally to force the ball 44 upwardly against the restraintof the spring 89 and partially into the recessed surface portion 88.After a predetermined longitudinal movement between the two wandsections the ball 44 becomes seated again, due to the biasing action ofleaf spring 89, in the next successively appearing hemisphericalindentation 26. However, when it is desired to positively latch the twowand sections to a desired intermediate length corresponding to aparticu-lal hemispherical indentation 26 the outer cylindrical mem ber82 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrovi E shown in FIGS.14 and 16 until the ball 44 is adjacent an internal longitudinalindentation 91a of semicircular cross-section which is formed in theinside surface of the outer cylindrical member 82 and becomes positivelyseated therein; i.e., the ball 44 becomes positively seated between theindentation 91a and a particular hemispherical indentation 26 therebypositively locking, or detenting, the wand sections 18 and 20 againstfurther telescopic movement.

In order to prevent longitudinal movement of the outer cylindricalmember 82 there is formed in the inside surface thereof an annulargroove into which a split-retaining ring 100 is inserted as shown inFIGS. 13 and l5.

Although more than one embodiment of our invention has been describedand illustrated, such embodiments are not to be considered as limitingthe scope of our invention, which is to be determined from the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. An adjustable length wand comprising an outer conduit adapted toreceive an inner conduit for telescopic movement within said outerconduit, said inner conduit having a plurality of indentations seriallyarranged in a line parallel to the axes of said conduit, 21 first memberfixed against longitudinal and angular movement on one end of said outerconduit, said first member having a portion extending axially beyondsaid outer conduit, said axially extending portion of the first memberdefining a bearing for snugly receiving said inner conduit andmaintaining substantial axial alignment between said inner and outerconduits, an opening extending transversely through said first membercommunicating with the outside surface of said inner conduit, a ballradially movable Within said opening for engagement in one of saidindentations, a second member slidably connected on said first member,means for preventing relative rotational movement between said first andsecond members, complementaiy recesses on said first and second membersdefining a first and second space therebetween, first and second opposedspring means in said respective spaces, said spring means normallybiasing said second member into a predetermined position relative tosaid first member, means connected with said first and second membersfor limiting the relative axial movement between said first and secondmembers, said second member having a radially inwardly directedprojection, the radial extent of said projection engaging said ballpositioned in an indentation in said predetermined position of saidfirst and second members, and a first and second radially outwardlyextending recess in said second member adjacent each axial side of saidprojection for receiving a ball released from said indentation, saidsecond member being axially slidable in a first axial direction againstthe bias of said first spring means and in the opposite directionagainst the bias of said second spring means for positioning one of saidrecesses over said ball, whereby the positioning of a recess over saidball is effected by grasping said second member and said inner conduitand axially pulling or pushing said inner conduit relative to said outerconduit.

2. The combination according to claim 1 with the addition of means forpreventing relative rotational movement between said inner and outerconduits.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein said means forpreventing rotational movement between said inner and outer conduitscomprises an elongated indentation on the outer surface of said innerconduit substantially coextensive with said indentations, a second holein said first member, a second movable ball in said second hole, saidsecond member seating said second ball in said elongated indentation.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,094,169 4/ 1914 Schoenborn285-303 X 1,209,008 12/1916 Messina 285-317 X 1,370,882 3/1921 Fergusonet a1. 2853l4 X 2,599,003 6/1952 'Leonard 285314 2,643,140 6/1953Scheiwer 285316 X 2,689,143 9/1954- Scheiwer 285119 X 2,893,765 7/1959Lyon 28758 2,963,930 12/1960 Clothier et a1 285303 3,244,437 4/1966Belicka et al 285-303 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,037,089 4/ 1953 France.

489,899 8/1938 Great Britain.

CARL W. TOMLIN, Primary Examiner.

R. G. BERKLEY, Assistant Examiner.

1. AN ADJUSTABLE LENGTH WAND COMPRISING AN OUTER CONDUIT ADAPTED TORECEIVE AN INNER CONDUIT FOR TELECOPIC MOVEMENT WITHIN SAID OUTERCONDUIT, SAID INNER CONDUIT HAVING A PLURALITY OF INDENTATIONS SERIALLYARRANGED IN A LINE PARALLEL TO THE AXES OF SAID CONDUIT, A FIRST MEMBERFIXED AGAINST LONGITUDINAL AND ANGULAR MOVEMENT ON ONE END OF SAID OUTERCONDUIT, SAID FIRST MEMBER HAVING A PORTION EXTENDING AXIALLY BEYONDSAID OUTER CONDUIT, SAID AXIALLY EXTENDING PORTION OF THE FIRST MEMBERDEFINING A BEARING FOR SNUGLY RECEIVING SAID INNER CONDUIT ANDMAINTAINING SUBSTANTIAL AXIAL ALIGNMENT BETWEEN SAID INNER AND OUTERCONDUITS, AN OPENING EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY THROUGH SAID FIRST MEMBERCOMMUNICATING WITH THE OUTESIDE SURFACE OF SAID INNER CONDUIT, A BALLRADIALLY MOVABLE WITHIN SAID OPENING FOR ENGAGEMENT IN ONE OF SAIDINDENTATIONS, A SECOND MEMBER SLIDABLY CONNECTED ON SAID FIRST MEMBER,MEANS FOR PREVENTING RELATIVE ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID FIRST ANDSECOND MEMBERS, COMPLEMENTARY RECESSES ON SAID FIRST AND SECOND MEMBERSDEFINING A FIRST AND SECOND SPACE THEREBETWEEN, FIRST AND SECOND OPPOSEDSPRING MEANS IN SAID RESPECTIVE SPACES, SAID SPRING MEANS NORMALLYBIASING SAID SECOND MEMBER INTO A PREDETER-